Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Umm... what Philadelphia suburbs have "open farmland?" I've seen that in the "exurbs" a good 20 or 30 miles out, and within Valley Forge National Park. Seems a bit of a falsity to say this is a Philadelphia suburb quality.
I drove from Bethlehem, PA to Philly a few years ago, and I thought I remembered driving past farmland. I might be misremembering, though.
I feel that that's the opposite of what he was saying. Boston's suburbs are leafier, but we don't have much open farmland and rolling hills.
It's an interesting mixture of both, honestly. Certainly there is a fair share of suburban areas in Philly that are heavily wooded, mostly in the inner-suburbs, with some remarkably dense greenery, but there are also plenty of more pastoral landscapes in the outer-suburbs where open spaces and rolling hills are more visible.
Umm... what Philadelphia suburbs have "open farmland?" I've seen that in the "exurbs" a good 20 or 30 miles out, and within Valley Forge National Park. Seems a bit of a falsity to say this is a Philadelphia suburb quality.
I think you're just utilizing a pretty conservative definition if "suburb" versus "exurb." The inner suburbs of Philly, as I noted in my last post, are of course much more wooded and densely developed, but the more pastoral areas further from the city are undoubtedly considered part of the overall suburban region of metropolitan Philadelphia.
Umm... what Philadelphia suburbs have "open farmland?" I've seen that in the "exurbs" a good 20 or 30 miles out, and within Valley Forge National Park. Seems a bit of a falsity to say this is a Philadelphia suburb quality.
Agree with what others have said. It's not farmland as in clear cut, thousands of acres of great planes/ heartland farmland. It's old, Northeastern farmland. It's gorgeous.
Boston has a ton of really beautiful suburbs though I voted Boston and I would not change it. With just the inland suburbs of Newton, Wellesley, Lexington, Concord, Arlington, Woburn, Winchester and Brookline I think Boston matches pretty well with Philly's Main Line. Then you add in the coastal suburbs of Marblehead, Salem, Manchester-By-The-Sea, Gloucester, Rockport, Newburyport, Ipswich, and even Plymouth (although I personally like the other north shore towns better) and I think Boston has Philly beat.
My ski friends who get stuck in Philly call it MASH... Mid-Atlantic Ski Hell.
Geoff huh? Makes perfect sense.
No one has ever stated otherwise.Philadephia is definitely not a Ski hub.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffD
It's already been covered but... It's tough to go sailing after work in Philly.
The Delaware River,Delaware Bay,Chesapeake Bay are full of Yacht Clubs. And the Atlantic Ocean is only a 1/2 Hr to 2 Hour drive away depending on location.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Geoff
]Overall, Boston is much more prosperous than Philadelphia. Metro-Boston is always in the top-5 for median household income. Metro-Philly barely cracks the top-25.
We've been down this road many times Sir. Philadelphia region has more millionaires than Boston area. Philadelphia being an industrial giant also has more post industrial poverty than Boston which helps explain per capita difference.
Also should be noted that Boston is a coastal area where Philadlephia is surrounded 360 degrees by land. Real estate values much more affordable in Philadlephia because it has 2x as much surrounding land. One could surmise that real estate values in Boston are higher not because of a higher quality of living but simply because Bostons housing options are limited.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Geoff
Boston has a lot more towns with strong school systems. Metro-Boston has a much bigger inflow of college educated professionals from around the world and an enormous number of college students who want to stick around after they graduate.
Completely false. Philadelphia retains more college students than Boston. You can look this stuff up you know?
As far as public school districts? Another case where the Philadelphia area is oft overlooked. Philadlephia Area has 4 of the US Top Public school districts in USA. Boston has only 1 https://k12.niche.com/rankings/publi.../best-overall/
My ski friends who get stuck in Philly call it MASH... Mid-Atlantic Ski Hell.
It's already been covered but... It's tough to go sailing after work in Philly.
Overall, Boston is much more prosperous than Philadelphia. Metro-Boston is always in the top-5 for median household income. Metro-Philly barely cracks the top-25. You can go west from Philly and have the Main Line 'burbs all concentrated in one place. Boston has their 10 elite 'burbs but housing prices are so crazy that former working class suburbs are all gentrified. If you can afford the housing, Boston has a lot more towns with strong school systems. Metro-Boston has a much bigger inflow of college educated professionals from around the world and an enormous number of college students who want to stick around after they graduate.
You're quite inaccurate about several things, here.
Speaking anecdotally, my experience is that the true "affluence class" (say, the top 30%) of both areas is remarkably similar in size/scope--only Philly's wealth is more suburban-based, yet that has been shifting of late.
2. There isn't a reliable way to comprehensively conduct an inter-state comparison of school systems, so your assertion is purely based on personal opinion.
3. Historically, I'd concede that you're correct about greater college grad attraction/retention in Boston, but in recent years, the Philly metro's rate of college grad attraction/retention has actually surpassed that of Boston: http://cityobservatory.org/wp-conten...port-Final.pdf
At some point, you have to recognize that stratospheric cost-of-living will begin to negatively impact the attraction of newcomers, especially when there's no perceived value to the increased cost.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffD
N
There is no one answer for this. If you're lower middle class, metro-Boston is staggeringly unaffordable. All that gentrification has chased out working class people. Massachusetts now leads the country in income stratification. Metro-Boston has 20% poor who are mostly in subsidized housing. If you're not in those places, you need to be above median household income to have any shot at buying housing. Of course, you're not buying into a Main Line suburb at that income level, either.
I think this is generally true, and it is unfortunate. Much of it is due to needlessly restrictive zoning that prevents an increase in housing supply, but that's a whole other subject.
Although I will admit that the Philly area has unfortunately more concentrated, deep poverty found Philly proper; Philly's suburbs, in comparison to Boston's suburbs overall, appear to be a bit more "well-off." I think it's mostly because of a very ideal balance of housing costs, supply, demand and income levels in the Philly area compared to suburban Boston.
Nonsense. Metro-Boston has a much bigger inflow of college educated professionals from around the world and an enormous number of college students who want to stick around after they graduate.
64% of college students educated in Greater Philadelphia colleges and universities stay in the region after graduation, significantly more than other cities that measure this trend including Boston (about 50% of college graduates stay)
64% of college students educated in Greater Philadelphia colleges and universities stay in the region after graduation, significantly more than other cities that measure this trend including Boston (about 50% of college graduates stay) and Baltimore (37% of college graduates are likely to stay).1
Not really surprising. Boston has the #1 and #2 most prestigious universities in the entire world. This attracts people from thousands and thousands of miles from every country in the world. A lot of people come to Boston from all over, many of them couldn't stay even if they wanted.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
